So far, I’ve identified my higher ed question/problem and my target audience: How does one increase civic literacy amongst American adults?
I’m now in the process of developing a set method for researching this group and how this question impacts them. As with most research, one begins with a single question and soon begins to identify several others that must be explored before addressing the original question.
One of those questions is “what’s the distinction between civic literacy and information acquisition?” This is valuable question because it forces one to consider the ways in which the two could be considered the same thing and the challenges in distinguishing between them. My goal is not just to attain information but to retain and apply it to one’s life- to live a life where one is engaging with and actively participating in the political happenings in one’s local (and not-so-local) community. For example, how do I design for my user in a manner that will allow them to understand whether/how/why their vote impacts the results of an election? The goal is to eliminate the “whether/how/why” in their minds- to provide them with design that allows them to identify a clear answer to their inquiries.
I have to interview people and I’ve determined who I should interview. My interview pool has to consist of a group of people that reflect all the different kinds of people that have and continue to go through the process of learning things in the USA. Below is a rough brainstorm of those groups:
-Self-proclaimed informed or “woke” people (Formally educated Americans and non-formally educated Americans)
-Non-Americans/Immigrants
And some questions I’m planning to ask:
How do you consume info?
How did you learn about XYZ? Where from?
Why is XYZ important to learn to you?
Since this conversation may be broad I would suggest asking them a question where they can think about their process of finding information that they would use to act on. Think deeply about your questions.
“If you needed to find out if there was an incident like a terrorist attack near your job, how would you find info?”
“Tell me the steps of your morning routine.”